What's wrong with my steak

hopie

Hi all

I've read the stickies regarding steak, got steak from a butcher which has been hung. Fried & grilled t bone,round steak & sirloin but steak never seem to come out with that melt in your mouth texture. The best way I can describe it is the middle seems bouncy & chewy not soft.

Am I cooking for too long,not long enough, when I fried I made sure pan was hot.

Any ideas?

John Mason

your pan is not hot enough

it need to be smoking before you put your steak on

about a minute on each side.

the best way to check, is that when you look at the sides there is a line of pink in the middle

waltersobchak

it sounds like your undercooking it and not letting it rest enough, try putting into the oven , once you've sealed the meat

hopie

I,m trying some round steak tonight about 8mm thick so is frying for 1 min per side the best method.

how long would I put it in the oven for after and how long to let it rest?

Thanks for help

CombatCow

I have a cast iron griddle pan with a wooden handle, id recommend one if you eat a lot of steak, anyway depending on the thickness, 1-3 min on each side then I put the whole pan in warm oven for at least 10 mins to rest em.

nyom :pac:

waltersobchak

hopie wrote: »

I,m trying some round steak tonight about 8mm thick so is frying for 1 min per side the best method.

how long would I put it in the oven for after and how long to let it rest?

Thanks for help

is that a thin piece?round steak its quite tough if overcooked, so about a minute aside is perfect, also add a small knob of butter at the end and baste the meat for a few seconds instead resting it..

when your cooking a piece of sirloin/fillet/tbone just give it 4-5 mins in the oven, keep testing it by touching the beef

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e47wFv24pLs

also allow the meat to rest for usually as long as you have let it cook, this goes for the larger roasts also

dollyk

imo round steak is only soft when slow cooked in stews, sirlion steak is good for frying, i put it in a really hot frying pan sealing each side a min each side, then i put water in my pan and slow cook with a lid till no blood runs from the centre. now for the best of the best get fillet steak, they are small thick steaks. i wait till they are on special offer in tesco, and freeze them . they are soooo expensive, but they melt in your mouth. oh and minute sreaks can be quite nice fried or in a casserole

Kimia

dollyk wrote: »

then i put water in my pan and slow cook with a lid till no blood runs from the centre.

Oh god, no offence Dolly but that sounds awful!!! Why would you want to boil a steak until it has no blood in it???

Never use round steak for steak-steak if you know what I mean. The BEST and juiciest is Rib eye steak (nyom).

Take it out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature.

Get your pan really really really hot. You can test it by dropping a tiny bit of water on it and if it evaporates it immediately it's ready. Have it smoking.

Season your steak with salt and pepper, just before putting into the pan.If you salt it too early, you'll draw moisture out of it.

SEAR the steak in the pan so that it goes nice and dark. Turn it after about 2 mins and do the same on the other side.

Depending on the thickness, put a glob of butter in the pan and bung it into a hot (180) oven for however long you want (rare, med rare etc).

If it's a thin steak, no need for the oven.

Enjoy!

Edit: Most importantly - let it rest!! For at least 5 mins. Thicker steaks, 10 mins.

duploelabs

sear for a minute in a smoking pan on each side, then put in an oven for an hour @100C.

if you've the time try it, you'll thank me

the beer revolu

duploelabs wrote: »

sear for a minute in a smoking pan on each side, then put in an oven for an hour @100C.

if you've the time try it, you'll thank me

Sounds like a well done steak!

The Sweeper

Depends whether or not his oven really registers 100 degrees.

Minder on here cooks a roast fillet of beef by sealing the meat on a pan, then wrapping it in paper and foil in a tight parcel and sitting it in the oven on something like 60 degrees for a couple of hours. The meat comes out tender, rare to medium rare right to the edges and doesn't need to be rested, it can be carved immediately.

Finishing a steak in a low oven may work out with a similar result.

the beer revolu

The Sweeper wrote: »

Depends whether or not his oven really registers 100 degrees.

Minder on here cooks a roast fillet of beef by sealing the meat on a pan, then wrapping it in paper and foil in a tight parcel and sitting it in the oven on something like 60 degrees for a couple of hours. The meat comes out tender, rare to medium rare right to the edges and doesn't need to be rested, it can be carved immediately.

Finishing a steak in a low oven may work out with a similar result.

No doubt, but one hour at 100 degrees (actual temp) would surely cook anything but a very thick steak through.

waltersobchak

The Sweeper wrote: »

Depends whether or not his oven really registers 100 degrees.

Minder on here cooks a roast fillet of beef by sealing the meat on a pan, then wrapping it in paper and foil in a tight parcel and sitting it in the oven on something like 60 degrees for a couple of hours. The meat comes out tender, rare to medium rare right to the edges and doesn't need to be rested, it can be carved immediately.

Finishing a steak in a low oven may work out with a similar result.

thats basically "sous vide" cooking,the cooking of any item under
vaccumm, at 60oc in water for a long time, you can do the same thing in the oven, but its easy enough to do at home, by wrapping the meat Venison/Beef/Lamb loins/fillets all work fantastically, in clingfilm and placing it in water at a steady 60o using a thermometer, to make sure its consistent, 8-10 mins for rare, 12- 15 for medium, 25mins for well done, also seal the meat in a very hot pan with butter, to remove any possible bacteria

The Sweeper

I've had the sous vide discussion with Minder as well - the problem with that seems to be keeping the water temperature consistent, as the addition of food will change the temperature. The sous vide devices - like a deep fat fryer but for hot water - cost a fortune.

Have you tried it at home with success, and if so do you wait for the water to return to the correct temperature after adding a 'package' and THEN start timing?

waltersobchak

yeah absolutely a professonal water bath costs a couple of thousand euro, the closest thing to recreating the same technique at home is, boil the kettle, half fill a pot then add 1/2 the amount of cold water, this should be roughly 60oc, a good therometer will come in handy..and then keep it ticking over on the lowest setting of the stove,(also controlling the heat by taking it off the stove if goes to high, returning when the residual heat gets too low) before you add the item.. to be honest the temp dropping only really occures if you overfill the pot, so use a small pot for one piece a medium one for 2-3 and so on.. usually it will drop but not sufficiently enough for it to make a difference, a few degrees under and over are fine.. just keep an eye on it, if it dropped significantly, under 50o then yeah the idea of waiting till it returned to 60o before starting the timing is a good one..

giftgrub

i have an all metal cast iron skillet which is the business for steaks.

I whack it in a really hot oven for a bit to get it hot and then i put it on the hob. Gas is the best in my opinion.

Its important to take the steaks out of the fridge and let them get to room temperature, i normamally let them marinate in oil and a little red wine vinegar as well but each to his own

Dont oil the pan, oil the meat and as previous posters have said wait til the pan is smoking before you lash it on

Season with salt and pepper just before you put it on as well

I find best steak for frying is a rib eye, get one with nice fatty bits in it, they mels when cooking and add a great flavour

Always buy from a butcher's and don't be afraid to ask them to cut it thicker if you want

And if you fo have an all metal pan dont forget to use an over glove when its on the stove...made the mistake of grabbing it on more than one occassion

the beer revolu

To be honest, you're never going to get good results from a crappy steak.
Steak needs to be thick and definitely not round steak. Striploin or rib eye is best - sirloin can be good too, if cut right.

It will also be difficult to get a good steak from a rubbish frying pan.

Lots of good advise above but unless you're going to source a good steak and have a decent pan (cast iron is best for steak) and are willing to get it really hot and make a lot of smoke, then you are wasting your time.
Also overfilling a pan with meat will cool the pan not allowing it to cook properly and you'll get insipid, unbrowned steak.
Resting is important too.
And remember, you can always cook a steak some more, you can't uncook it.